Tuesday, December 19, 2017

liberty, not so much and can gas

The Statue of Liberty was a beacon of feminism right from the get-go. I mean, it is a big woman, out on an island. And as typical mankind would have it, women were banned from the statue’s dedication. If ‘humankind’ were the norm, stuff like this would not occur. On that day, the ladies chartered a boat and held their own ceremony out on the water. They loudly proclaimed the hypocrisy of men “erecting a Statue of Liberty embodied as a woman in a land where no woman has political liberty.”
One just has to admire all the women who fought so hard and for so long to get the rights they should have had right from the get-go. How can we still not give women equal rights, across the world, across the board? And men still do not understand why so many women think we’re idiots.

When I lived in Lake Placid, NY, some friends and I took a road trip to visit the L.L. Bean store in Freeport, Maine. It is a classic trip for any New England or touring camper. Presently, just behind Acadia National Park, the flagship store is the next most popular visitor attraction in Maine. Unreal, it’s only a store. But an absolutely awesome store. The company was started by Leon Leonwood Bean in 1912 and it sold only one product, the Main Hunting Shoe, now known as the L.L. Bean Duck Boot. The boot has a rubber bottom and lightweight leather uppers. I had a similar pair of boots, Sorel. Duck boots are priceless for the mud and snow; wore mine out.
The store covers 220,000 square feet and there are two other stores nearby that showcase what doesn’t fit in the main store. I should make a trip back; there was only the one store when I visited. If in the area, a visit is a must. I wonder if college kids still prefer the middle-of-the-night visit. The store is open has been open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year since 1951.
In Lake Placid, there was an EMS store (Eastern Mountain Sports); another awesome store. Maybe the east’s equivalent to REI. EMS was the first true camping/outdoor gear store that I was ever in. It blew me away; I was all smiles. I later visited their store in Boston, and I was just as happy.

This guy’s wife does not play golf but one day she decided to ride in the cart while he shot a round. He teed off on a par 3 and breathlessly watched as the ball rolled into the hole. The guy was ecstaticdancing around and whooping.
His wife, not so much. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”

The wines I enjoy most come in bottles. I also get box wines on occasion, such as Black Box and one type of Bota Box. Last month I picked up a Box Wize just because I got a smile out of some of the text on the box.
Hand over the wine and nobody gets hurt. And
Don’t cry over spilled milk. It could have been wine.

I rarely use my Honda 1000 generator but there are times when it is needed. I start it up and let it run for half an hour every month or so to keep it healthy. The generator never crossed my mind last fall, so when I went to start it last summer, it was all gummed up. When I took it in for service, I was told about canned gas. Never heard of it. It does not have ethanol and whatnot of gas-pump gas and is made for long-term storage. It is more expensive but a quart will last me for months, maybe even a year, and it is what I will be using from now on.
Even with all the cutting I did last summer with the Stihl chainsaw, I used less that a gallon of mix. So after I had it serviced, all I will be using is 2-stroke 50:1 canned mix. Am I the last person to learn about canned gas?

This would have been a most memorable New Year.
At the stroke of midnight, on December 31, 1899, the SS Warrimoo was on the spot where the equator meets the International Date Line. Think about it. The forward half of the ship entered January 1, 1900, while the aft end remained in December 31, 1899. Simultaneously inhabiting two hemispheres on two days in two centuries. Guess that tops Four Corners.